101 'What ifs..?' To Inspire, Encourage and Enlighten

By Brian Naughten

Simply say the words 'what if' and you open yourself up to a universe of possibility:

What if a single act of kindness could have more power than all the money in the world?

What if this life is but one step in a much longer journey?

What if through your veins flows the power of a thousand suns?

What if, no matter how lightly we seek to tread, we always leave footprints in the hearts of others?

What if this life holds more than enough magic and wonder for one hundred lives, let alone just one?

101 'What Ifs' to inspire, encourage and enlighten – to help you see the every day and the extraordinary in a new way.

 

101 'What Ifs' also includes tales and essays from the incredible land of Anywhere...a fantastic world of humans and 'mythical' creatures where Magick still exists – 'what if there was a world that was very much like this one yet at the same time very, very different?'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian Naughten
• Release date: May 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201360078

Book preview

And So it Goes On...

Once upon a time...about now in fact, in a busy and bustling town somewhere on this planet, on the same day and the same time, an old woman lay dying and a baby girl was about to be born.

The old woman felt all that was Familiar and Warm and Known slipping away from her and she felt great fear – she was being drawn down a dark tunnel leading to somewhere she didn’t want to go. Powerless to resist she travelled down that tunnel, further and further away from the Known, ever nearer to the Unknown. Her fear grew and grew until before her she suddenly saw a Light At The End Of The Tunnel – and that light seemed so warm and welcoming, exciting and enticing that her fear completely evaporated; the Unknown suddenly seemed so much more exciting and interesting than Known that, instead of resisting her passage down that strange tunnel, she pushed and scrambled her way onwards to the light to emerge, kicking and screaming with hopeful anticipation, into a New Day.

And at the opposite end of that same town...

The baby girl felt all that was Familiar and Warm and Known slipping away from her and she felt great fear – she was being drawn down a dark tunnel leading to somewhere she didn’t want to go. Powerless to resist she travelled down that tunnel, further and further away from the Known, ever nearer to the Unknown. Her fear grew and grew until before her she suddenly saw a Light At The End Of The Tunnel – and that light seemed so warm and welcoming, exciting and enticing that her fear completely evaporated; the Unknown suddenly seemed so much more exciting and interesting than Known that, instead of resisting her passage down that strange tunnel, she pushed and scrambled her way onwards to the light to emerge, kicking and screaming with hopeful anticipation, into a New Day.

And so it goes on, and on, and on.....

He Killed The Last Unicorn!

Once upon a time...in the land of Anywhere, in a world long since forgotten, in the fine and prosperous city of Anyplace there lived a Banker. Despite being a rich and seemingly successful individual he was neither particularly bright nor talented – like all his kind he owed his wealth and position to The Magick Of The Old School Tie, a thuggish, brutish (even psychopathic) nature and the easy gains to be made once one was plugged into a Financialised Economic System that owned The Politicians and The Means Of Communication and was blatantly criminal in its nature; that kept all profits to itself but ensured that The Ordinary Folk compensated it for its losses.

In truth, The Banker was a thoroughly unpleasant sort. One of the things he enjoyed doing most, besides Rigging Financial Markets to enrich himself and destroy the lives of others, was hunting. He loved to dress himself up in the latest style of Aristocratic Idiot hunting gear and stroll pompously through the wild countryside surrounding the city of Anyplace, various guides, scouts and gillies In Attendance, killing as many animals as possible. For no other reason than entertainment and the satisfaction of his gross appetites. Oh, and to validate himself as a man for he was, in reality, so inadequate as one that only killing things made him feel like a Proper Person.

One day, on one of those hunts The Banker enjoyed so much, he wondered somewhat Off The Beaten Track, away from those In Attendance, and found himself alone, forcing his way through an area of low, dense scrub and towering trees. He found that being alone actually made him feel More Of A Man and his excitement at the prospect of killing some poor animal became even more intense. That excitement grew markedly when he found himself in a clearing amongst the trees and scrub and saw, just ahead, unaware of his presence, chewing on a clump of lush grass – a Unicorn! The beautiful, extraordinary, almost mythical Unicorn. The ultimate hunter’s trophy!

And therein lays our tale. For this Unicorn, chewing away peacefully on a clump of God’s Green Grass in front of our vile Banker, was The Last Unicorn. The only one left in existence after widespread depredation and pollution of the Natural Environment by The Greedy One Percent and constant hunting by them and their Minions. To kill this one, fine and beautiful animal would permanently unstitch one of the Threads Of Creation from the Cloth Of The Universe. If The Banker had known this, would it have made any difference to his intention and desire to kill the animal? No, indeed it would have made the kill all the sweeter. Would it have made any difference to him if he had known that the act of removing A Thing Of Beauty forever from the fabric of the Universe would curse his Soul? No, for he would have thought that but a small problem that could be dealt with as any problem is dealt with – with money.

Oblivious of all the matters we have just discussed (for he was oblivious to all except money, power and self-gratification), The Banker raised his rifle to his shoulder and placed the Unicorn in his sights. But just as he was about to pull back the trigger and let fly a slug of hot, fatal metal - up popped a Faerie! As Faeries are wont to do in such circumstances.

Don’t ask me where the Faerie had been, or where she had come from. I’ve no idea. Nobody knows how Faeries materialise and dematerialise at crucial and significant times, except perhaps because they are drawn to strong emotion like bees to honey – beyond that, it’s impossible to explain, simply part of Faerie Magick, beyond the experience or knowledge of men. What I can say for sure is that the Faerie had materialised at this point and space in time to prevent a Gross Crime Against The Universe. It had determined that the last Unicorn was in danger of being killed and had decided it had